Fun fact, the dictionary defines Definistration as the specific act of throwing a person or thing out a window.
At that moment, Spider-Man came crashing through the window, falling toward the street below.
Really not my favorite word.
Spider-Man quickly shot a web to stop his fall. Once secure, he quickly swung himself back into the air, crashing through the window and landing on one of the tables.
"Okay!" he let out. "Where's the dude with the nasty tude?"
Spider-Man's eyes suddenly went wide as a trio of electric blasts shot out, causing him to quickly dodge them and leap off the table as Green Goblin flew down.
"Present and accounted for," Goblin declared, pulling out another pumpkin bomb and lobbing it at the hero.
Spider-Man leaped out of the way of the bomb and swung through the air, prompting the Goblin to chase after him. The Goblin then threw several razors at Spider-Man, one of them cutting his webline as he fell to the ground. He quickly landed on the dessert table, which launched a chocolate cake into the air and right onto Jameson.
"Hey!" he let out. "This tux was a rental!"
"Consider it payback for insinuating I would ever work with someone like him," Spidey countered. "Green seriously clashes with my skin tone."
Spider-Man's spider sense went off, prompting him to dodge as three more razors flew out, prompting him to dodge before they hit, only slicing at the chest of his suit.
"You mock my costume, I shred yours," Goblin countered. "And the skin underneath."
"Dude, you seriously need a hobby."
Green Goblin flying another bomb at Spider-Man, promoting him to web over a serving tray and use that to smack the bomb back at Goblin. Gobiin swerved to dodge the blast before flying low and throwing some razors at him. Spider-Man easily dodged the razors, causing them to fly toward the wall behind him. Goblin then pulled out a pumpkin bomb and threw it at Spider-Man, prompting him to web over a chair to nail it. As it went off, the blast knocked Spider-Man back, causing him to crash into a crafts table.
"I don't think I saw your name on the guest list, Spider-Man," Goblin remarked. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave."
"Leave now?" Spidey remarked, flicking food off of himself. "When table seven needs more horderves?"
The Goblin then fired several electric blasts at Spider-Man, forcing him to shoot a web and sling himself into the air. Goblin followed him into the air as Spider-Man bounced from planet to planet. Spider-Man leaped onto one of the cables, swinging on it before launching himself at the Goblin. He kicked Goblin in the face, causing him to spin around before grabbing hold of Spider-Man by the leg and throwing him forward. Goblin then jetted forward and grabbed Spider-Man flying him around the room.
"What do you say we go for a ride?" Goblin mused before turning down to his goons. "Keep our guests comfy, boys! I'll be back in a New York Minute!"
Goblin then flew through the glass window, taking him and Spider-Man high over the city as he veered around wildly.
"Yeesh, Gobby," Spidey let out, breaking free of his grip. "Where'd you learn to fly this thing?"
Spider-Man spun around and traded blows for a moment before Goblin activated his wrist blade and swung it at him. Spider-Man ducked under it before trying to punch Goblin. Goblin caught the fist and tried to bring his blade down on Spider-Man again. Spider-Man caught the wrist and punched the blade, snapping it off instantly. Goblin then threw Spider-Man behind him, prompting Spidey to snag a web line onto the glider.
"Still hanging around, are we?" Goblin remarked. "Now you'll know how it feels to be the tail of a kite!"
Goblin then jetted off, flying through the skyline and whipping Spider-Man around in the process. Spider-Man did his best to hold on, even running along the side of a building before leaping off.
"Impressive," Goblin mused. "We'll have to try something else."
He then flew straight up, soaring higher and higher by the minute. He then performed a loop and severed the web line with the wing of the glider, causing Spider-Man to fall toward the ground. He tried to fire another web to swing from, but nothing came out.
"Empty. Don't panic. You still have another-" he tried firing from the second one, but it was empty as well. "Okay, now you can panic."
…
At her apartment, Gwen was typing at her computer, casually looking up at a picture of her, Peter, and Harry from their Freshman year. She smiled at it, suddenly thinking of Harry and what might be going on with him. She decided to take out her phone and call Liz to follow up on her talk with him.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Liz, it's Gwen. I was just wondering how things are with you and Harry. He said he'd call you tonight."
"I… haven't heard from him at all today. I hope he isn't avoiding me."
"Did he ever mention anything else going on?" Gwen wondered.
"He did mention working with his dad on something once, but…"
"His dad?" Gwen questioned. "That's odd…"
"Why?"
"Well, Harry gave every impression that he didn't want to be associated with his dad's work. Didn't want to be all consumed with it like his dad was."
"But… why would he lie?"
"I don't know… something's definitely wrong here."
"I just hope he's okay…"
"… me too…"
…
Spider-Man went wide eyed as he plummeted to the street below. Thinking fast though, he reached into the belt underneath his costume and pulled out one of his spare web cartridges. He loaded it into his web shooter and fired a webline just before hitting the street. He swung just above the road, looking up to see he was heading right into traffic. Releasing the web, he sailed toward the car going back and forth, straightening his body out so he could slip between the gap between a truck and a bus before shooting a web to swing from.
"Alright! Spider powers, one! New York traffic, zero!"
As he swung up, the Green Goblin rammed right into him, causing him to slam into a wall.
"If you want someone beaten right," Goblin let out, pulling out some razors. "Beat them yourself!"
He chucked the razors at Spider-Man, prompting Spider-Man to leap upward.
"Took the words right out of my mouth," Spidey remarked, swinging away on the one webshooter. "Is that a felony?"
"One would hope!" Goblin remarked, chucking bomb after bomb at the young hero. "I would hate to be caught committing anything above a misdemeanor!"
"Ooh, nice banter," Spider-Man remarked, landing on the side of a building. "Too bad your aim isn't as sharp as your comebacks."
"Well you know what they say," Goblin replied, throwing another bomb. "Practice makes perfect!"
"Keep telling yourself that!" Spider-Man retorted, leaping off the building and swinging away.
As he did, he spotted a nearby construction site, giving him the idea to swing inside. Goblin followed after, firing electric blasts to try and nail Spider-Man. Spidey fortunately, managed to dodge and evade the blasts as best he could. One of the blasts did nail him in the back, causing him to grunt in pain before falling toward the ground. Thinking fast, Spider-Man fired a web at a girder, allowing to swing forward and upward past Green Goblin. The emerald villain threw another bomb at him, narrowly missing him as it hit one of the girders. The smoke cloud was enough cover for Spider-Man to perch on a girder and restock his other web shooter.
"Perfect," he declared, seeing Goblin amidst the smoke and leaping down to kick him in the face. "That's for the people you killed on that balcony!"
Spider-Man then fired two webs at girders in front of him, pulling himself forward, nailing him in the chest.
"That's for trying to get me to join you!"
He then fired one more web above him, launching himself upward so he could uppercut Goblin.
"And that's for making me protect Fisk!"
All the constant battering sent Goblin flying backward toward an oncoming building. Seeing it coming behind him, Goblin leaped off his glider seconds before it hit the building. He then proceeded to backflip over the entire length of the roof before falling over to the other side and landed on the glider as it came out on the other side. Spider-Man was in awe of the sight before him.
"Ok, wow… just… wow."
The Goblin then looped around toward the building Spider-Man was clinging to, veering upward along the wall as he extended a blade on the front of the glider.
"Yikes!" Spider-Man let out, beginning to climb away.
"You can't escape me, Spider-Man!" Goblin declared. "You'll run out of building soon enough!"
"Out of building, out of luck," Spidey listed off, before suddenly leaping off. "But never out of style!"
He then fired a web at Goblin's face before landing back on the side of the building and pulling down hard, causing Goblin to collide with the building. Spider-Man then wrapped him up in a web net hanging from a flagpole as he hung upside down from it to chat.
"Might as well hang around until the police arrive," Spidey mused. "Besides, there's a few things we need to talk about."
"I don't think you've got the time," Goblin retorted. "Speaking of time, do you know what time it is now?"
"Why?" Spider-Man asked, cocking an eyebrow.
"Because depending on the time, Fisk and his little friends might be in one place… or several."
Spider-Man's eyes went wide. "What are you talking about?!"
"Oh, just the special Fire and Brimstone Pumpkin Bomb I left behind. As a tribute to our dear Mr. Fisk," Goblin looked out and saw a clock tower reading 8:45 off in the distance. "Ah, there we are. In exactly fifteen minutes, the crem de la crem of New York is going to paint the town red!" he cackled in response. "Well, the ballroom anyway."
Realizing what was going to happen, Spider-Man didn't waste a second leaping off the building and swinging away in hopes of averting disaster in time.
…
At the Osborn Penthouse, Liz rode up on the elevator, hoping to speak to Harry in person. The elevator stopped, opening up and revealing the Osborn's butler Bernard on the other side.
"Miss Allen," Bernard greeted.
"Hi, Bernard," Liz greeted. "Is Harry here?"
"He should be up in his room. I'll announce you."
Liz walked inside, looking around at the empty living room. She sat down on the couch, seeing a picture of Harry and his parents, noting how distant his father looked in the photo.
"Miss Allen," Bernard spoke, getting her attention.
"Is everything alright?" she asked.
"I am unsure. Master Harry wasn't in his room."
"What?"
…
Spider-Man swung as far as he could back to the Planetarium, hoping to get there before the bomb went off. As he approached the building, he noted the police cars approaching in the parking lot. He swung down to them, noting Officer Davis and Detective Watanabe being the ones to exit their vehicles.
"Officers," he greeted, landing on the hood of one of the cars. "Perfect timing."
"Freeze!" Davis let out, drawing his weapon. "Hands in the air!"
"Are you serious right now? We don't have time for this!"
"We just need answers to a few questions," Yuri insisted.
"I'd give em if I could, but the Goblin's got a bomb up there! If I don't move now, a lot of people are gonna die!"
The two law officers looked at each other, Yuri being the first to relent.
"Alright, go," she allowed.
"What?!" Jefferson let out.
"Can we really take a chance if he's wrong?"
Jefferson paused, finally coming around. "We'll be here when you come back."
"Not coming back," Spider-Man confirmed.
"Just go. Go!"
Spider-Man nodded, leaping onto one of the street lamps and swinging himself upward. He then fired two weblines to pull himself upward, reaching the window he had crashed out of. He then shot a webline to pull him inside, swinging into the party. The Goblin goons saw this and opened fire prompting him to dodge midair. He swung into one of the goons kicking him in the chest before backflipping onto the ground. He then the second goon and threw him into the third, knocking them both to the ground.
"There's no time!" Spider-Man called out, turning to the crowd. "The Goblin's planted a bomb! It's gonna go off any second!"
"What?" one of the goons let out.
"He's bluffing!" a second goon challenged.
"Is that really a chance you want to take?" Fisk asked with an assertive tone. "Especially considering you've taken so many."
The three goons looked at each other before taking off downstairs.
"So much for job security," Spidey remarked before turning to John Jameson. "There are police waiting downstairs. Get to them and explain what happened."
"Right," John replied before addressing the crowd. "Everyone, down the stairs! If the bomb goes off, the elevator won't be safe!"
Immediately the crowd started taking off, and Spider-Man got to work locating the bomb. He over turned tables and searched under serving trays, but was coming up dry. He heard a noise behind him, causing him to turn and see Fisk helping in the search.
"What are you doing sticking around?" Spidey asked.
"My party, my mess," Fisk countered.
…
On the stairs, Eddie and John were ensuring everyone else had gotten out safe.
"Come on, come on," John let out as the last person came past. "Ok, that's the last of them."
"Good," Eddie replied. "Now let's get out of here before we get blown to Saturn!"
The started to take off, but John stopped, thinking about Eddie's choice of words.
"Saturn…" he let out, suddenly doubling back.
…
Back in the main room, Fisk and Spider-Man were continuing their search as John came running in.
"Spider-Man!" he called out. "Saturn's ring!"
Looking up at the Saturn model, narrowing his eyes at the sight.
"Thanks! Now go!"
John nodded as he went down the stairs, prompting Spider-Man to swing up to the model. He looked at the underside of the ring, finding the bomb Goblin had placed. He tossed it a little, catching it with his feet as he fell back to the ground and fired twin weblines at opposite ends of the room. He finally connected them and placed the bomb in between.
"This ones for you, Jorge," he remarked, launching the bomb into the air. It sailed through one of the broken windows, going higher and higher over the city until it finally went off in a cavalcade of explosions, each one sporting the Goblin's signature laugh as a result. With the threat averted, Spider-Man let out a sigh of relief, only to hear the sound of clapping in the room. He turned around, spotting Fisk as the one doing the clapping.
"Wow," he let out. "I gotta say, getting applause from the Wilson Fisk… makes me want to shower."
"Perhaps," Fisk replied. "Though, some gratitude is in order, considering you saved my life."
"I didn't do it to help you, Willie," Spider-Man told, walking up to him. "I did it because it was the right thing. You should try it some time."
"Nevertheless," Fisk continued as Spider-Man walked past. "Someone should point out that I offered you a very handsome salary to do just the sort of heroics you've done tonight," Spider-Man stopped in his tracks, turning back to him. "And instead, you've done the Kingpin's business for free," this time it was Fisk's turn to face him. "That, my young friend, is what gown ups call 'irony'."
With that, Fisk walked off, leaving Spider-Man to narrow his eyes before taking off.
…
Outside, other police cars came to aid Yuri and Jefferson with tending to civilians and arresting the Goblin goons.
"So, still thing Spider-Man isn't on our side?" Yuri remarked.
"I'm… open to being convinced," Jefferson retorted. "He did save a lot of lives today."
"That we headed glory hog wouldn't have saved anyone if it weren't for my son!" Jameson declared, walking over to them. "You'll read all about that in tomorrow's Daily Bugle!" he then turned away to speak on his earpiece. "You heard that, Robbie?! Here's tomorrow's front page: Colonel John Jameson saves New York's Elite-"
"Dad!" John cut off, running up to him. "You can't print that."
"What? You want that webhead to get the glory?!"
"I don't care about glory. Besides, there will be an investigation that could scrub me from the mission."
Taking that in, Jameson sighed before returning to his call. "Robbie, scratch that headline. Give the credit to Spider-Man…" he mumbled the hero's name, prompting Robbie to press further. "To Spider-Man, confound it! Oh, and tell Parker he's fired! The kid never showed-... what?! What do you mean he just emailed photos?!"
That last outburst caught both Yuri and Eddie off guard.
"This Parker kid always seems to be at the right place and the right time for these pics. Any idea how?"
"None," Eddie lamented. "... but I think it's time I found out."
…
Meanwhile, Spider-Man returned to where he left the Green Goblin, only to find the net cut through and his adversary gone.
"Great…" he let out.
Hated that Gobby got away, but everyone made it out alive, so I wasn't about to complain. My biggest concern was getting back to Doctor Octavius before he did something drastic.
…
"So he wasn't there?" Gwen asked, having left her apartment to head to the school.
"No," Liz replied. And his butler said he didn't see him leave at all tonight."
"What about his dad?"
"His dad's working late as Oscorp. Been a lot of trouble after the board members were killed."
"Right… well, I'm heading ver to the school. Maybe he's here."
Gwen hung up as she made her way toward the school. As she walked through the courtyard, she heard a low moaning coming near the fountain. She ran over, seeing arry laying on the ground.
"Harry!" she let out, kneeling to him. "Harry wake up!"
Harry groaned a little as he woke up. "Ugh… wha- Gwen?!"
"What happened to you?"
"Me?" Harry replied, getting to his feet. "Uh, nothing. Practice wiped me out is all."
"So you decided to take a catnap on the cement until nine o'clock?" Gwen questioned, getting up herself.
"Eh, guess I was more tired than I-"
"Harry, be serious. I'm worried about you. And so is Liz."
Harry just scoffed in response. "Please, I'm too beef for serious," he started walking off. "I'm fine, really. You guys don't need to worry."
"Hey, you can't just-"
"Later," Harry replied, finally leaving.
Gwen just narrowed her eyes, silently concerned for Harry as she decided to leave herself.
…
At Oscorp, Peter made his way back to the lab as fast as he could so he could speak to Dr. Octavius. He entered the lab, only to find it empty.
"Dr. Octavius?!" he called out. "Hello?!"
"Peter," Rosie responded, causing Peter to turn and see her enter the room.
"Oh, hey Mrs. Octavius. I was actaully looking for the other Dr. Octavius. Have you seen him?"
"I was about to ask you the same thing. He said he wanted to meet me here for something, but didn't say."
"I really need to talk to him. The arms are-"
"Parker! Rosie!"
The two turned to see Otto, now wearing the green suit from before and walking over to them.
"Good, you're both here."
"Dr. Octavius-" Peter began, suddenly glancing over to see the arms gone. "Wait, where are the arms?"
Otto just remained still for a moment. Just then, the four metallic arms came out of his back. Rosie was in awe of the sight before her, but Peter was just speechless.
"That's… incredible," Rosie let out.
"Peter and I managed to perfect the neural interface," Otto explained, having his arms shootout and pour some water for him, Rosie and Peter. "I was able to make some modifications myself and now processor speeds are under one nanosecond."
"Whoa," Peter responded. "That's… that's faster than signals travel inside the brain."
"Indeed," Otto confirmed, handing them their drinks. "And I owe it to you, Peter. Your work helped lay out the blueprint for my modifications and-"
"Doctor, wait," Peter cut off, setting the drink aside. "Before I left, I detected some kind of anomaly in the neural interface. If left unchecked it could could do some major damage to your mind-"
"I know."
That caught Peter off guard. "You what?"
"I heard your message. So I went back over everything. I will admit, I at first I didn't think it was as bad as you thought, but I took a second to consider everything. I wanted this part of the project to work. To be seen as… significant. But I remember what you said earlier, that as long as it helps others… it does matter. And it's worth doing right."
"So… the spike?"
"Taken care of," Otto replied, turning around and showing the implant on his neck and pointing to a chip on it. "When I discovered the problem I installed this. A neural inhibitor chip. It will regulate the signals that would've affected my higher brain functions, sending them into a feedback loop," he then turned back to face them. "Now I control the arms, instead of them controlling me. So to speak."
Peter let out a sigh of relief. "That's a relief. I wanted to tell you about the error in person, but I had this work thing and-"
"Peter, it's fine. The problem was corrected. There's nothing to worry about."
"That goes for both of you," Rosie chimed in, walking over to Otto. "I know being back here has stirred up some old feelings, and… maybe feeling like you have something to prove," she took his hand. "But you don't. Not to me anyway."
Otto smiled, tightening his grip. Peter saw how they were looking at each other and decided his presence wasn't needed.
"Uh, I should get going," he spoke up, backing out of the lab. "Aunt May gets pretty worried if I'm not home by ten."
"Alright then," Otto allowed. "See you tomorrow. And Peter… thanks."
Peter nodded before heading out of the lab, leaving Otto and Rosie alone.
Now I know what you're thinking. Happy ending all around right? The city was saved, I got some new cred, and everything with the Octavius' worked out. But nothing ever stays that good for long. And as I would soon learn, a small error can, and always will, lead to much bigger problems.
